Champions Manchester United were held to a 0-0 home draw by 10-man Reading while rivals Chelsea earned a record-breaking 3-2 win over Birmingham City as their Premier League seasons got underway on Sunday.

United had all the possession but failed to make it count against a Reading side who had substitute striker Dave Kitson red-carded in the 72nd minute, less than a minute after coming on, for a reckless tackle on Patrice Evra.

In the day's first match, Arsenal snatched a late 2-1 victory at home to Fulham. Dutch striker Robin van Persie equalised with an 83rd minute penalty and Belarus midfielder Alexander Hleb struck a 90th minute winner.

The day's action left United as the only one of England's [Images] big four without a winning start. Liverpool beat Aston Villa 2-1 on Saturday with a fine late strike by captain Steven Gerrard.

Along with the dropped points, United also lost England striker Wayne Rooney [Images] to injury for the second half.

Manager Alex Ferguson was already without fellow strikers Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer through injury, while new Argentine signing Carlos Tevez was also missing.

Ferguson's men also came up against an inspired Reading keeper in American Marcus Hahnemann.